The Everlasting Youth
by Lonewingwriter
Summary: Her name was Orihime Inoue, and she was older than she looked. IchigoxOrihime
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **

Hi, I'm back. I realize it is that time of the year again, the Tanabata Festival. I really want to enter this story in the Festival, but I'm not sure if they will hold it again this year, or if this story is eligible since it will be a multichapter-story, or if I can finish it before the Festival ends, yet I'm so excited to share this story with all of you. And it fits so well with the Tanabata themes: about separation and reunion, about love that lives through time (well, lot of time) and hardship

So yes, I can't wait to post it. It's all thanks to ** jylener22 **that I can update this early.

I plan to update once every week, but we'll see about it.

Uhm, due to the nature of this story, there will not be a standard length. Most of them will be short though since I don't want to leave out too much information, LOL. So it should be an easy read for all of you.

**(6/2/2013) **

* * *

Her name was Orihime Inoue, and she was older than she looked. Much much much older than she looked. How much older was she than she looked, you wonder?

Look at her. She was sitting on a huge rock, watching over her grand grand-grand-grand nephews (grandchildren of grandchildren of grandchildren of her nephews, how many generations she had lost counted), still looking like a 16 years old girl.

The truth was that she hadn't aged since she was sixteen, but she only realized it when she was thirty, exactly at the time she was getting married and was so scared of the idea that she had run away from her own wedding, only to brooding over it hundred years later.

She wandered her eyes over the playful children and rested her chin on her palm. How carefree of them, not tasting a bit of life, innocent and naive, like she once was. The ground on which they were playing was the same ground that she had been playing on when she was a little; the same ground that she had trained to become a hunter; the same ground where she first met him, bleeding and preparing to die; the same ground that held her brother's funeral; the same ground that she first used to teach her nephew to become a hunter; the same ground that was to be her wedding's holy ground; the same ground that witnessed her nephew's growing up, his wedding day, the birth of his children, his death… and the circle continued. Oh, thinking about it began to give her a headache.

How many more circles did she have to witness? How much pain did she have to bear, to see the ones she loved die one by one while she was still living, watching their sufferings, again and again, without having any power to do anything? She was so tired of this life, yet she could not leave this world because it was a sin. Moreover, even if she wanted it, she couldn't do anything about it. She took her knife out and sliced a line through her palm. Like always, the wound healed before it could even bleed.

What wrong with her body? When did it happen? Did it happen since birth? Or did it happen because someone had done something to her body without her knowing it or remembering it? She didn't know. She didn't know anything, yet those questions kept bothering her, so she decided to go out to the world for the answers.

Years and years passed. Years and years she travelled and came back without an answer. Years and years she witnessed the death of everyone else but her own. Years and years she wished for a miracle to happen so that she could get old and die, like others. Years and years she wished to have a normal family, to have children, but she couldn't.

It was true that she could get married and have children, as many time as she liked, but it would just double the pain of living. She sighed. Besides, she didn't believe she could love anyone like the way she loved him. She didn't know it was fate or curse, the day she saved him. Taking a bleeding stranger in an era of wars and chaos into one's house was an unthinking thing at that time, yet to a sixteen years old young girl, it was heroic and totally cool. Moreover, she didn't have a heart to let him die. Though he was cold to her the whole time he stayed at her house, she took a real liking to him because to her, he was a real man. He didn't talk but let his action speak for him. From helping her brother with the hunting to teaching the village children how to read and write, he did it with an aloof and disdainful attitude, but he couldn't hide his kind heart from her. She even found his coldness, lack of emotion, and poor social skills somewhat cute and amusing. She loved to pulling him into the forest with her, laughing at his scowl, the way he shook his head in disapproval, the way he scolded her, and before she knew it…. she fell in love with him.

Not until later, she found out he was an agent of the King, and her brother was a member of the rebels. He was a spy whose purpose was her brother's death. Rage overwhelmed her when her brother's body was brought to her house by him, in the rain. He was covered in blood, mixing his own blood with her brother's blood and the rain. He turned his back and left, and she swore never to forgive him.

Years passed, and she devoted her life for her nephew's health and happiness. She knew that _he_ had always helped her in the shadow, yet she couldn't forgive him nor could she kill him. For she couldn't do both, she decided to let it be until one day she found out the truth about her brother's death.

That he wasn't the one who killed her brother. That he actually betrayed his master, the King, and helped her brother to escape. Yet on their way back, her brother's comrades mistook her brother as a traitor and demanded their lives. Her brother committed suicide to prove his innocent and to give the man she loved a way to escape so that he could reunion with her.

The union had never happened until ten years later, when she was thirty.

That night before the wedding she was so nervous, so nervous that she went to meet him though she knew it was bad fortune to meet her husband before the wedding. She just wanted to ask him if she was too old for him, that if he still loved her if she got older and older.

He just smiled at her and caressed her face with his thumb, "you are still the same as when you were sixteen, and my love for you will remain so."

Their lips touched for a chaste kiss. _If she had known that it was their last kiss, she would have let it last much longer._

She went home, happy and looked at herself in the mirror. He was literally correct. She looked exactly when she was sixteen. She touched her face. It was youthful and smooth. There was not a single wrinkle to be found on her face. It was impossible for her to look this young after 14 years.

She got frightened and began to think of all kind of possibilities if she was indeed unable to age. She couldn't think of anything but unhappiness. Soon he would realize their differences in ages; that he kept getting older and older, and she was the same. Even now, he looked much older than her. What happened if they have children? What happened if their children kept growing up while their mother stayed 16? How could she be with them? They would be disgusted by her. They would all think of her as a monster.

She was so scared, so she ran away. She had hoped that it was just her over imagination and one day she would age, and when that day came maybe she would come back.

She wouldn't blame him if he didn't wait for her.

Yet he did wait for her, but no matter how long he waited for her, she didn't come back because no matter how much time had passed, she didn't age.

One day he didn't have to wait anymore because his time had come.

No matter how much she cried, he wouldn't come back.

No matter how much she cried, she couldn't come to him.

No matter how much she cried, they would be forever separated.

XxXxXxXxXx

She wiped her tears away and looked at her great grandnephews and nieces. She clenched her fists. Only if she knew who did this to her! She doubted that her body was like this since birth. Her brother and his children were perfectly normal. Someone must have done it since she was little, and if she found him, she would let him taste a little bit of her pain.

"I found it." A youth came near and raised his hands up in triumph. "I don't even know how much time I have wasted, but I finally found it."

* * *

**A/N: **Please do tell me what you think about this story. Constructive criticisms are more than welcome.

Oh, and have any of you had a guess of who her lover is/was? LOL.


	2. Chapter 2

(6/16/2013)

Orihime raised her eyes to see who the newcomer was. He was a really young man; just about her age… she meant the age that she looked like. On the other hand, he must be a very weird man; each piece of his clothing seemed to come from different eras. His torn white shirt had the style of the seventeen century while his baggy brown pants seemed to come from the sixteen century, and she was quite sure that his green cloak was way back to the fourteen century.

She shook her head. She was over imagining things again.

Suddenly he looked at her, and almost naturally, she did what she hadn't in centuries: she blushed.

Ulquiorra was the only one who had ever made her blush. She thought that she had lost that ability, but this man and the way he looked stirred something deep in her.

She immediately turned her head away before his brown eyes could meet with hers. Even so, her heart was still pounding rapidly at the way his orange hair shone so ferociously against the sun that it seemed like he was the sun itself. What was this feeling? Why did she feel like déjà vu, and that she had had these feelings before, that she had met him before, and that she had known him… from a long long time ago…

She grabbed her wrist with her other hand to overcome the sudden trembling that was coursing through her body. It was joyful yet unpleasant at the same time.

The man gave her a quick look but continuing to walk firmly and determinedly toward her old house, his green bag hung loosely on his back. Part of her was relived from, the tension his presence had caused, yet part of her was disappointed that he hadn't given her a second look… She shook her head furiously. Why should she care if he noticed her or not?

Even so, she continued watching to see what he was up to.

He was a strange man indeed, for it was over thirty minutes, and he was still walking in a circle. It was almost funny to watch him. It was only twenty yard from where she was sitting to the playing ground, but he had been walking mindlessly around and around the trees.

Orihime watched the young man in interest. She had met several people like him before, people with extremely poor sense of direction. Even when there was only a short distance from where they were to their destination, if there were barriers like houses, or walls, or trees, they would easily get distracted and be confused, and they would end up walking around the barriers instead of heading straight to their destination.

"Hum, do you need any help?" She asked softly, but somehow he was able to hear it. He smiled faintly and scratched his head in embarrassment. "That would be a great help. Thanks a lot."

"So you should turn right and just go ahead, passing through all the trees."

"Ok, turn right…." He immediately turned left, "and passing through all the trees." He walked ardently toward her direction. His face was bright, not in the least doubting that he was going in a wrong direction.

"No," Orihime said in a slightly louder tone, "just turn around and then go ahead."

"Turn around," He murmured to himself. Then he stood still and spun around. "180 degree." He turned 360 degree, "then another 180 degree" he turned another 360 degree, and seeing that he was still facing her, he smiled embarrassedly. "Let me try again." He said to himself. And so he turned some several "180 degree" only to head east into the forest.

Orihime sighed and stopped him before he strayed further from his true path. "Where do you want to go?"

"That yard." He pointed at the ground the children were playing.

"Just just follow me, ok?" She stood up and walked several steps ahead of him.

"Actually, I'm very grateful for your help, but it is very important to me that I get to go to that yard on my own, without help from any other person."

She shook her head mentally. Children these days were so stubborn. He should learn to rely on people once in awhile, especially people who were much older and wiser than himself (her, for example).

"Ok, so turn left." She figured that if she said one direction, he would do the opposite; therefore, to help him, she just needed to tell him to go in the opposite direction. However, much to her irritation, this time he turned left without any problem. If she knew any better, she would say he was born to be misled all his life.

Not being able to stand it anymore, she took his hand and led him straight to the house without giving him a chance to protest.

His hand was so big and warm, and it felt so familiar….

"_Take my hand…" He scowled, yet his hand was glowing in the sun_

When she came to her sense, they were standing at her old yard. It had been ages since she stepped her foot on this particular patch of ground. It was full of the utter most sweetness and bitterness of her life that she had no courage to return home ever since…ever since Ulquiorra died. She could have never imagined that she would stand here, centuries later, because of a stranger, a weird man with no sense of direction whatsoever.

Her tears ran down her eyes as she spotted the graves of Sora and Ulquiorra, both had been built by her hands, back in the grove next to the well in the east of the yard.

"Why are you two crying?" The children asked, part curious, part amusing of the appearance of two strangers.

It must be hilarious for the children to see two strangers holding each other hands, tears rolling quietly on their cheeks. She would have found it hilarious too, if she had not been too absorbed in her sentimental memories. What was he crying for, anyway? She thought as she quietly and softly pulled her hand out of his. He didn't seem to notice it. Instead, he wiped his tears away and kneeled down to the kids. Much to her surprise, despite of his weird appearance and somewhat obstinate nature, he seemed to be a very nice person, especially at the way he rubbed the kids' heads gently and smiled at them kindly, "hey kids, do you know a girl named Orihime Inoue?"

A chill ran down her spine. It had been centuries since anyone had ever said her name, and she didn't have any relatives bore the same name. Why did he ask about this name, at this time, in this yard?

"Are you sure?" A scowl flashed through his forehead. "She has very big gray eyes, and short straight auburn hair… She was about this tall." He raised his hand up to his chest, still kneeling on the ground. Then he pounded his forehead into his palm, "Oh, I forget. She must be much older now. Do you know a girl with my description but at the same age as mine?"

"How old are you, brother?"

"How old am I, huh?" He scratched his head in confusion, turning to look at Orihime, then turning to look at the children, and then he began to count with his fingers clumsily. Giving up, he asked the children, "How old do I look?"

"The same age at this sister."

He turned to look at Orihime again. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen," Orihime answered rudely than she wanted, but her mind was clouded of this strange event and the even weirder man. How did he know her name? He seemed to know her, as when she was a little girl, but she had no idea who he was...And he couldn't have known her, could he? He was just a young man around sixteen years old while despite of her look, she had lived for more than five hundred years. Unless….

"Then I'm sixteen too." He said to the children, "so do you know a young girl at my age, with big gray eyes and auburn hair who likes to wear pink and love to daydream very much?"

All the fingers pointed at her, and for the first time, the young man looked at her carefully, deeply and sincerely. "Inoue," he stood up. "Inoue" he came up and hugged her, much to her discomfort. "Inoue, I finally find you."

Orihime tried to break away the hug as gently as possible, but the man was so strong, and he was in such a fiery passion that he was totally ignorant of the surrounding. "Inoue," he finally freed her, yet his hands grabbed her shoulders instead, "Inoue, do you remember me?"

"Who are you?" She asked.

"It's me. Ichigo Kurosaki."

"_My name is Ichigo _Kurosaki_." He said softly, turning his head aside in embarrassment. Ichigo Kurosaki. What a beautiful name, she thought. _

"_Ichigo Kurosaki," she murmured to herself, wishing to say that name for the rest of her life. A name promised joy and happiness, adventures and fantasies. _

"Ichigo Kurosaki." She murmured to herself. She knew not that name. The only thing she knew was that the name reminded her of pain and betrayal, of terrible journeys and nightmares.

"Inoue, did you forget about me?" The pain in his voice wrenched her heart too. She tried and tried, yet she could not bring herself to remember him.

"I'm sorry, but I think that you have found the wrong person. I cannot be that Orihime Inoue."

"But you are." He took one step closer, and before she could react, his fingers threaded around her pendant, and with one swift tug, he had wrenched it from her neck. He then let it rest on the palm of his hand and show her the words that were craved deep into the wooden surface:

IK&OI

Friend forever

He took off from around his neck the same pendant and showed her. It had the same words on it.

She shook her head. She began to have a headache. All she wanted to do was to get away from this Ichigo Kurosaki as far as possible. _This man was a bad omen._ _He was dangerous. Her friends told her to stay away from him; that people with hair like him angered the Gods; and that misfortune would fall upon him and those who associated with him. _

Seeing the look in her eyes, he cast his eyes down the ground. His voice was sad, "You can forget about me, but please don't give me that look. Anyone can give me that look, but if it's you, I don't know how long I can stand it." His voice was so soft, it seemed like he was murmuring to himself than talking to her, "I'm not a monster."

"I'm sorry." She took his hands. His sorrow was hers. _How could she ever be happy again if he was sad? _"I'm sorry but I cannot remember you."

"Then I'll make you remember me, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes."

* * *

**A/N:**

Hi all, thank you very much for reading this story. Huge hugs to those who reviewed. I can't tell how happy I am reading your kind words about my story. And reading them at least twice a day really brightens my RL

Sorry this chapter comes much later than scheduled. I still intend to update once a week if possible, so stay tuned. Of course alert always helps.

And do give me your comments on the story. It always helps me to improve more on my writing.

Last but not least, thank you, **jylener22, **you made it happen! What can I do without you.

If you are curious, **jylener22 **is my beta and it always thanks to her that I can update early. I have around 3 chapters in advance, but I now develop a habit to never post or update chapter without having it read by a third person. Just learn from experience, and I love this story too much to post it premature and unpolished.

As always, technical and writing advices are welcome!

And... Question time: Was anyone really surprised that it's Ulquiorra, not Ichigo? Any guesses on who is Ichigo and what is his relation to Orihime? Did anyone at the beginning of this chapter thought that Ichigo was really a stranger to Orihime? And how do you think I will take this story from now on?


	3. Chapter 3

(6/28/13)

Who was he, and what did he want with her? Orihime thought as she looked over the young man who was washing his face next to her on the side of the small stream at the back of her old house.

Something stirred in the water and like a flash he grabbed it with his bare hand. He raised the fish in triumph and asked her rather cheerfully, "Do you want some grill fishes, Inoue?"

This and that… He was definitely familiar, but she couldn't put her fingers on who he was.

Orihime shook her head reluctantly. Part of her wanted to know more about him. Part of her wanted to stay away from him. Part of her was amused by him. Part of her detested him. She didn't know where those feelings came from, but such conflicted emotion made her irritated and confused.

"I see." He put the fish gently in the stream. "I'm not surprised that you're not remembering me, that you are confusing, that you doubt me. After all, eight years have passed." He tried to force a smile, "I can't believe we are sixteen now. Look at you, you have become such admirable young lady."

"Listen," Orihime shook her head again, not knowing how to explain to him, "I'm not the one that you are looking for. I have mistaken me for someone you know." If he was indeed sixteen, the girl he was looking for was not her. If he was looking for her, he was not sixteen. But then how was it possible for a man to forget his own age?

The leaves rustled in the wind, the water gurgled against the rocks. The whole universe stood still as he stared into her eyes, each of his word was a confirmation of her existence, "You are her. I can feel it. Isn't the pendant enough proof?"

About that pendant, Orihime couldn't understand why she never noticed it before or more precisely the words that carved in it. For her, it was a part of her, so naturally, like her other part of her body, she never questioned its origin, its existence, its presence. It was just there, the whole time.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Orihime looked at him firmly, her eyes searching for truth in those crystal clear brown eyes, "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." He answered with equal seriousness, "and I just want to find my long lost friend, Orihime Inoue."

"How old are you?"

"Didn't you say I'm sixteen?"

"I never said that you are sixteen."  
"But you said that you are sixteen."

"But then how come you know that you are sixteen too?"

"Because you are as the same age as me."

"How come a man doesn't even know his own age?" She said with a slight anger in it.

"Yes, I don't know my own age. For me, years are just blury illusions. I couldn't remember how much time has passed. I couldn't remember what I have been doing." He reached his hands for hers, "all I could remember was you. You are the only reason that I keep on going and going."

Letting her hands stay in his was a mistake. Letting her eyes being drawn by his was another fatal mistake, for she was beginning to let herself believe in his outrageous story.

"How did we meet?"

"In the back yard of your house, I was shooting a bird and it flew into your yard, but by the time I got there, you refused to let me take her but insisted of healing her yourself instead."

"How old were we?"

"Five."

"What happened after that?"

"I helped you to mend her injured wings, and then came to play with you every day after that. We healed the bird together, feeding her, finding her a nest, seeking a mate for her, and watching over her and her new family."

"I couldn't remember any of that."

"Coming here," still holding her hand, he led her to a tree nearby. "Look at this, it's still here."

On the tree was a blurred line of word, but she could still read what was carved into it. "Mayo's home. Made by IK & OI."

"We knew how to read and write at five?"

"Just a little bit," he scratched his head, "You were very smart for you age, and I could at least learn how to write our name in abbreviation."

"But how could we put the nest up there?"

"I was a little bit of a climber myself."

"At five?"

"Yes. But we had been playing together for three years. By that time, you and I had learned quite a lot for ourselves."

Orihime couldn't believe it. If what this man said was true, and that she was his Inoue Orihime, then how could she not remember someone she had played with for three years? And there was also the problem of his age. If he was her age, and came from her era, that must mean he was like her, an immortal being, unable to age. She had to test it.

"Do you know anything else about me? Like… my brother?"

"Of course, how could I not remember your brother, Sora Inoue? He was such a strict brother, but he cared about you a lot. He always eyed me whenever I asked to take you out, but he let us anyway after you kept pouting to him. Where is he now?"

That sparked the old wound in her heart, and somehow she began to hate this man. He linked to her past. He could even be linked to her misery, the curse of immortal. He reminded her of all things she wanted to forget. And his ignorance of her pain, his ignorance of his own being, his ignorance of the time itself infuriated her. He was unbound of the suffering of those who was bounded by time. He was freed out of all the strings that tied them humans, only driven by his own wishes and desires. His freedom was what she strived for. It was his freedom that she envied, for while her past tied her up and caged her in, his past pushed him up and kept him moving.

Orihime turned her back and decided to leave. This man was dangerous for her. He raised all of those negative feelings that she didn't want to keep. She wanted to feel good about anything and anyone around her. She wanted to love them and cherished them, but this man irritated her and made her envy him.

"Inoue," he grabbed her wrist, "please don't do."

"_Kurosaki-kun, please don't go." She cried, and she wanted to cried louder and louder until he stopped and came back to her, but he didn't stop, didn't turn his head. He just kept going and going while the rain kept falling and falling. She was abandoned, by the one she trusted the most, in a desolated strange land where the wind sliced through her skin with its sharpness and the ground spoil her bare feet with his hardness. She was falling… She wished everything was just a nightmare, and when she woke up again, he would sat next to her, holding her hands, and scowling at her._

She pulled her arm away with all her force. She began to remember now, and it was not pleasant. He was indeed someone she should detest, but why could she forget someone who put such a deep mark in her memories?

Even now, she could only recall fragments of her memories about him. Some of them were full of love and admiration, yet part of them was hatred. Who was him to her?

Before she could further her thought, she felt his warmth over her back, his arms around her waist. "Please don't go, Inoue. I only have you in this world."

It had been so long since she had ever gotten this close to another human being. For years, she was just a ghost of a past, wandering through the present and future. The world she saw was through the mirror. She was a witness, not a living in it.

Feeling his breath steadily on her neck reminded her that she was living again. He was blowing the life into her tired soul.

His energetic passion, his firm resolve, his honesty, his invulnerableness of the surrounding, and even his boldness; she remembered it now. She remembered why she was so drawn to him.

_Orihime tenderly and slowly placed the injured bird on her palm. Who would have harmed such an innocent creature? _

"_Hey," a soft voice startled her. She turned around to see a boy around her age standing shyly next to a tree. _

_Curiously, she stepped closer to him. "What is this?" She said in a low voice._

"_Can you give me back the bird?" He murmured with an even lower voice. She looked around to see if he was trying to keep someone from hearing their conversation, but there was no one there but them. _

_She leaned closer, trying to hear him, "Can you say it again?"She asked with a slightly louder voice._

"_Can you give me back the bird?" He was still whispering like he was afraid someone would overhear them. _

"_Is anyone around there?"_

"_No"_

"_So why do you have to say it so low?"_

_His face burned red. He stood straight, putting one hand on his hip while one hand placing in front of her in a demanding manner, his voice was rougher with more force on it, "Give it back."_

"_You are rude; I'm not giving it back."She hid the bird from his sight by placing her free hand over it. _

"_Mom says taking other things from other is bad. Only thieves do that."_

"_I'm no theft." She pounded her feet on the ground in anger. "It fell into my yard, and I just want to heal it. You are going to my yard, you are the theft."_

_He moved his body closer behind the tree. "I'm still here, I'm not over your yard yet. I'm no theft."_

"_You are a coward."_

_This time it was his turn to pound the ground with his feet in abashment. "I'm no coward." He stepped closer to her, making her step back and turn to the side so that he could not reach her bird. _

"_You are the thief now."_

"_So now you are the coward."He scowled ferociously, not sure on how to deal with her._

"_I don't mind being a coward. Brother says it's ok for girl to be a coward. It's best that I should run when I see it fits. That's what smart people do. Only fools like to play heroes and putting their heads into problems."_

_He opened his mouth in anger then closed it, not sure what to say next, then he opened it again. "Give it back."_

"_No." She ran toward her house and he chased after her. In a hurry, she tripped over a rock, and fell over. She cried but still tried to cover the bird in her palm. As he came closer, she cried louder and louder, hoping someone could hear her. _

"_I'm sorry, ok?." He came nearer and gently gave her a handkerchief. "Don't cry." He gently wiped her tears away. "You can keep it if you want."_

"_Really?" She asked between tears. "You promise that you won't hurt it?"_

"_Yes, I promise."  
"Pinkly promise?"_

_He scowled but intertwined his finger with hers anyway._

"Inoue, I'm sorry." She felt like her shoulders were burning with his tears, "I'm sorry that I don't know how to protect you." Even her waist hurt with his grip. "I'm sorry that I left." But those pains were nothing compared to the wound in her heart. "I'm sorry that I was a fool, but… I love you."

For those three words were what that hurt the most.

"So… please, don't leave me."


	4. Chapter 4

**_(8/10/13)_**

_Orihime hummed her favorite songs, her legs swinging in time to its rhythmus. She was sitting on a big tree, but she was not afraid one bit, not when she would have him sat next to her at any moment. _

_What stories should she tell him next? She was out of fairy stories, and she was afraid that her imaginary stories were too stupid or too boring for him to hear. Yet he had so many things to tell her, things that she was deeply interested in, things that broadened her views of the world, things that gave her dreams and desires to see the world for herself. How could he know so much, when he was just a little boy, at the same age as her? How could he understand the forests and the world of hunters so well? She could tell from his swift movement, his keen observation, his excellent scene of direction, his fast reflexes that he was a natural hunter._

_As compared to herself… She just simply didn't have what it took to be a hunter. She couldn't bring herself to harm a single ant. Her reluctance to take action in the face of danger was fatal, to herself and to her clan if she were to go hunting with them._

_She should be upset every time she thought about it, yet how could she feel anything but excitement when he was about to come, to play with her, to tell her stories, to show her the ways of becoming a hunter. Today would be their first day to go hunting together. Today would be her first time to become a hunter. _

_He was late…_

_Maybe he was busy with his newborn sisters. Recently he had talked nothing but them. It was wonderment that they were twins. The whole village was roused by this new. Some said that the twins were gifts from the heaven, that the village would be blessed from now on, that something wonderful would happen. Some said that twin was always a curse and would bring great misfortune upon the family and the village at a whole. Whatever they said, the twins were beyond adorable, and so many people who saw them couldn't resist the urge to hold them in their arms, to see their smiling faces… and no need to say, their father was beyond proud._

_At first, when Ichigso heard the news that he was going to have a sibling, he had been sulking the whole time during his mother's pregnancy. He didn't say it, but Orihime knew that he was afraid that the newborn would take all the love from his mother. He had been complaining how his mother had been neglected him, and how much time she had spent to prepare for the new kid. _

To be honest, Orihime thought that Ichigo was too much of a mama's boy. He was strong, but he was too dependent on his mother. To him, his mother was the whole world. He had the vision and the potential to discover the truth of this world beyond anyone else, but he was too fixated on his mother. All he saw was her and nothing else. Everything she said was the absolute truth and those words became the world itself.

Orihime quivered slightly as Ichigo's fingers intertwined with her, and he hugged her more tightly from behind. His lips even touched gently on her head. Was he replacing her for his mother? Five hundred years to find one single friend from childhood? And he lost the sense of time, the sense of himself to complete that self-appointed task. Even his excellent sense of direction had disappeared. It was not her that he was looking for. His mother was gone, and he put her into that emptiness of his heart, and placed his world fix around her.

"What are you doing in this world, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked. "What are you looking for?" His grip loosened. "I am not your mother." The arms left their warmth around her waist and fell to the side, "I am not the one that you love."

_However, as soon as the twins were born, he instantly gave them all of his affection. He told her how adorable they were, how they looked so much like his mother, that they would certainly grew up into admirable young ladies just like his mother, that he would be strong to protect them until then. He spent less time with her to take care and play with his twin sisters. _

_But she didn't mind it since no matter how busy he was; he still found his time for her. He still told her about his family and his life. He still kept her as a part of his life, and to her that was enough. _

_Orihime swung her legs harder. He was late, way too late. The sun was about to set. She had to go home now or her brother would be worried sick. _

_XxXxXxXxXx_

"_Orihime, you're back." His brother greeted her, unusually solemn. "Did you meet Ichigo?"_

_Orihime shook her head in disappointment, "He didn't come today." She threw herself on bed with a little more force than usual, "He is such liar. He has promised me again and again that he will come, that today we will go hunt together for real."_

_Her brother sat next to her and rubbed her hair softly with his hand, "Orihime, please be more gentle with Ichigo from now on. Please be nice to him, and always be by his side. From now on, he has one person less in this world, a very important one."_

"_What do you mean, brother?"_

"_His mother just passed away"_

"_What is 'passed away'?" _

"_It means that person is no longer in this world, that we will never see her again."_

"_Never, never?"_

"_Yes, never, never."_

_Tears filled her eyes and she buried her head in her pillow. She couldn't understand this whole "passed away" business, but she could feel it. Just thinking about never seeing Sora or Ichigo again made her feel incredibly sad, and tears couldn't stop from falling down and gradually soaking her pillow._

_XxXxXxXxXx_

_Ichigo never returned to the way he was before. They couldn't talk or laugh like they had before. He scowled more, and never smiled, and she didn't have the courage to lighten his mood. She didn't have the courage to tell him joke or ask him to play with her. She just knew to follow him like a ghost. _

_He let her follow him, yet didn't bother to talk to her, which made her incredibly upset. Sometime she just wanted to yell at him, to beat the sense into him, or to leave him alone, yet she kept follow him, submissively and passively, like the way she always was, like the way she always hated. _

_One day, when he was spacing out for so long at the river bank, that Orihime said to him the first time since his mother's death, "Wouldn't you want to go home?"_

_He didn't answer, like she didn't exist, and kept spacing out at the river. _

_She tried to contain her anger and continue speaking to him in a soft voice, "Your father will be worried about you. And you should help your father to take care of your sisters too."_

"_Don't tell me about the twins." For the first time in a long time, he spoke to her, yet his voice was full of hostility._

"_Why not? They are adorable."_

_He didn't say anything but kept staring at the water in anger. _

"_Don't you love them?"_

_His silence began to get on her nerve, and she was fed up of his childish behavior. "You are supposed to love your sisters. You should go home and take care of them." She said in a louder voice._

"_Who are you to tell me what to do?"_

_This was the first time that Ichigo raised his voice at her, and spoke to her with such horrid words. Before she knew it, tears were formed around her eyes. _

"_Can't you just stop crying? You made me so tired. All you know is to cry."_

_It hurt so much that she couldn't stand on the same ground with him any longer, so she ran and ran, her tears flew so fast the she couldn't wipe them all off. _

_When she came to her sense and calmed down, she realized it was dark and she was lost in the forest. _

_She was frightened and wanted to cry again, but she was so tired, the tears seemed to be dried up from her. _

_The howls of some strange creatures, the sounds of cracking branches were enough to make her quiver in fear. She curled herself in a ball and rested her body against a tree, praying for some miracle to happen, for Sora or Ichigo to find her. _

_Tears warmed her dried eyes again. She thought that she was losing her ability to cry, but thinking about him triggered it. She couldn't stop feeling sad, she couldn't stop wanting to cry. She couldn't stop hoping for him to find her. _

_Her eyes felt heavy and heavier until darkness covered her completely. _

"_Inoue…Inoue…"_

_Her shoulders were slightly moved, and she tried to open her heavy lids. _

_A spark of orange glowed in the moonlight. _

"_Go away." She pushed him away in anger, trying to ignore the bruises on his arms and legs and the holes torn in his clothes. _

"_I'm sorry." He said sincerely, his brown eyes were so full of sadness that she couldn't stop herself from hugging him._

"_I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun, for being so tactless. I just wanted to cheer you up…" She sobbed, "but I end up just make you more irritated, to make you hate me…" _

"_I don't hate you." He said quickly. "I…I…" Suddenly he leaned up and kissed her on her forehead. "That's what I feel about you." He said in shaking voices, his face burned and his eyes cast down the ground."It's myself that I hate."_

_Heat went from her stomach into her face, and it was the first time that she felt something more than friendship to the boy sitting next to her. She had no more desire in this world than to comfort him. She cupped his face with both of her hands and guided his eyes to meet hers, "Now that your mother is no longer here, you should love yourself for her. That's your responsibility."_

"_How can I love someone who is so weak he couldn't protect his mother nor love his sister; who have to blame others for his own misery?"_

"_You are strong." _

"_No, I'm not."_

"_You are strong."_

"_No, I'm not."_

…_..._

_So they went on and on with their little agreement until both were dead tired and laughed at each other heartily._

"_You are always so honest." Ichigo said as they rested their backs against the tree. "That's what I like about you. You are always there for me, you say things that I don't want to hear, but you force me to see the problem myself." He said softly, "Thank you."_

"_Will you see your sisters again?"_

_He nodded, reluctantly._

"_Will you love them again?"_

"_They are my sisters. I can't hate them. And I know it's not their fault that mother died."_

_Orihime smiled brightly, relieved. "I'm glad." She coughed; the cold of the night began to seep into her body. _

"_Let's go home." He reached his hands for hers. _

_She blinked. He growled even in the dark, where no light could reach them. _

"_I can't see anything. How can we go home like this?"_

_He pointed his thumb at his chest proudly, "Don't forget who I am."_

"_The best path detector and forest tracker in the world," She giggled._

_He blushed. "This dark is nothing. Let's go."_

_Holding his hand, there was nothing that was worth fearing. The darkness, the beasts, the dangers, all of them swirled like dust around her. In her eyes, there was only one thing, and that was the boy who was walking bravely ahead, his hand holding hers tightly._

_After they walked for a while, Orihime saw a flash of light ahead and pointed it to Ichigo. While he climbed into a tree like a monkey to see what was going on, she sat down, clapped her hand together and for the first time in her life, praying for their safety. She had never left home this late before, and though she had Ichigo with her, she couldn't help but feel extremely anxious and unsettling. Misfortune seemed to be hanging around the air and she even had a weird feeling that they might never come back home again._

_The light came nearer and nearer, and she could see that it was from several torches. Suddenly, she felt a strong hand pulled her up to the tree, and before she came to her senses, three figures had gathered around the trees. How could they be so fast? She asked herself as she settled down on a strong branch with Ichigo, looking down at the ground. _

"_Your highness, please take a break. You must be tired, and the Mage stopped to rest too. " A figure bowed to another figure as he spoke._

_The other figure raised his hand, "If so, we shouldn't rest. This time we might be able to catch him."_

"_What is the point, Aizen-sama?" A third figure came to the scene and pulled his hook down, revealing his silver hair which shone brightly and mysteriously under the moon, "we couldn't catch him, no matter how fast we are." He then sat down on a nearby rock, "I'm dead tired. I'm taking a break."_

_The second man spoke again, and through his silky and smooth voice, she could almost imagine his lips forming into a smirk. She wondered what kind of person he was to provoke such strong impression just by his voice alone. "Then do take a break, Gin, Kaname."_

_Lighting a small fire, the three sat down in a circle and began to take out their refreshment._

_Orihime quietly crept along the branch so that she could see his face better the, one with the smooth voice and seemingly the highest status of the group._

_She had never seen someone that handsome, Orihime blushed. He was a young man at the age of twenty three or so, yet there was no single evidence of naivety on his face. His eyes were sharp and deep, highlighting his high nose and broad forehead. His lips were thin but they seemed so full and delicious the way he ate his bread slowly and gracefully. His hair was brown and wavy, and he looked extremely charming with a single strand of hair hanging over his forehead._

_A finger poked her forehead, and she surprised to see a scowling and slightly angry Ichigo. How he had crept along the branch to face her, she had no idea. She was too busy staring at the handsome young man to notice him. Like being enchanted, she turned her head toward the young man again. He was just inhumanly handsome, and it felt like a sin not to look at him. _

_Unexpectedly, Ichigo cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him. The way his ears burning in anger, his eyes flashing in the firelight, his scowl deepening told her that Ichigo was jealous. Orihime stuck her tongue out at him and tried to turn her head toward the man again but Ichigo's grip was surprisingly strong… and his eyes… They were so deep and intense that it was difficult to not be drawn into them. His eyes told her to look at him and him only, to have only him in her eyes, and her heart jumped at his possessiveness. _

_She wondered if Ichigo would grow up being as handsome as the man sitting below them. Even if he didn't, she doubted that it would really matter. She doubted that there would be any one who could capture her heart again because his eyes had sucked it in completely._

_So they spent a full five minutes just to stare into each other eyes, and each second passed her heart raced a beat faster. _

"_Aizen-sama, have you come up with any new plans to capture the Mage yet?"_

_The handsome man whose name was Aizen took a sip of water and smiled, "Just a little bit more, Gin. Please be patient."_

"_That's what you said three years ago, Aizen-sama." The man who was addressed as Gin said rather playfully, "tch, I don't know how much time we have wasted. Those three years should have helped you to become the crown price already, yet you give up all the glories to pursue a legend."_

"_A legend, Gin," the other man said slowly, "is what makes a man. The crown is within my reach. Why should I pursue something that is rightfully mine, which will be mine when the time comes?"_

"_How can you be so sure? You have so many brothers competing for the crown, and instead of making the King and the court notice you, you decide to become a nameless price by wandering around the country, finding a man who might not even exist."_

"_Say, Gin," the man put his cup down the ground, "What will you do if you become King?"_

"_I have no desire to become King, so honestly I don't care."_

"_So why are you following me?"_

"_You have the ambition to change the world and I think it's interesting enough to see how you do it."_

"_Changing the world," Aizen knitted his fingers together, "is a process that requires time, and time is a luxury in this world. You cannot change the world in five or ten years. And to maintain the change and promote more changes require more and more time. To create a world I desire, I have to have this luxury named time."_

"_And so you follow a myth that might cost you even more time than you can afford?"_

"_Say it's a pre-free. I wouldn't mind paying ten years or so to finally attain an eternal youth."_

"_I have to be honest that I find the idea of a philosopher's stone is absolutely absurd."_

"_What is so absurd about a stone that brings wealth and mortality; a stone that can even revive the dead? It's a dream of any mortals. It's the only bridge between humans and Gods. " _

* * *

_**A/N: **__Thank you all, for reading and following this story._

_Please let me say special thanks to those who take your time to review. It really makes me happy and encourages me to write more. _

_Also credit to **jylener22** who have been beated this story and supported me a lot. _

_Since I'm lazy and not good with Gin's speech pattern, I decide to let him speak normally while still try to make his conversation sound playfully and mockingly._


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